KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System are reminding people that having COVID-19 previously does not make anyone immune to the delta variant.
While many believe that previously having been infected with COVID-19 can provide protective antibodies, doctors clarify that is not the case.
"We are NOT at herd immunity. If you've had Covid before, you are still susceptible to the delta variant," Dr. Steven Stites emphasized. "I know what people want to believe is, oh yeah, so many people got it plus some of the folks who are vaccinated equals 80 or 85%."
Stites explained that with the delta variant, the Kansas City area is approaching one of its highest peaks in COVID-19 cases. And herd immunity will be very difficult to reach when people under 12 make up a large portion of the population and cannot be vaccinated at this time.
The doctors believe that area jurisdictions reinstating mask policies are taking the right step.
"It is masking, it is distancing. Now we need to put it all together," Stites said. "But I think the most important thing is to continue to endorse the vaccinations, as vaccination and masking, we can whip this and we can do, we know how to break the curve, not just bend the curve folks. Let's break the curve."
He warned that if the combination of masking and vaccinations is not enough to tamp the rise in cases, other measures, like capacity restrictions, might have to be brought back as well.
